June 1, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Before the stirring late-season run that all but assured it a spot in the NCAA Tournament, UCF was a team on the proverbial bubble and staring at a daunting three-game road series against Florida State.
Having to take on the nationally-ranked Seminoles in Tallahassee isn't the path most teams would choose to try and lock up an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. But there was a method to the madness for UCF manager Terry Rooney when he scheduled the late-season road series against the `Noles.
The belief was that this Knights team would be good enough to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004, which it ultimately did. Also, Rooney knew the benefits of playing before large crowds against elite competition at FSU would make UCF more tournament ready when the NCAA finally rolled around.
``When I scheduled that series with Florida State there were the hopes that we'd put ourselves in the position to get to a regional and we could provide an atmosphere that our kids could get used to. And when we played up there it was a regional-type atmosphere and that's only going to help us now,'' Rooney said. ``From our standpoint, it all plays out great now. We've played on that field before and we've played that (FSU) team and we've seen their best pitching. So I think it'll work out as an advantage for us.''
When UCF opens NCAA Regional play on Friday at noon in Tallahassee there should be a distinct been-there, beaten-that feel to it for the Knights. Second-seeded UCF (38-21) opens against No. 3 Alabama (33-26), a team the Knights topped 12-4 back on Feb. 27. The other side of the bracket features top-seeded FSU (42-17) and Bethune-Cookman (36-23) - two other teams that the Knights are very familiar with. UCF won one of three against FSU during their May 6-8 series and the Knights twice routed Bethune-Cookman during the regular season.
Undoubtedly, there will be nerves for a UCF team playing in its first NCAA Regional in seven seasons. But the familiarity of having beaten the other three teams in the double-elimination tourney should ease some of the anxiety.
``Alabama is going to be pretty fired up I'm sure because we beat them pretty bad the first time,'' sophomore center fielder Ronnie Richardson said. ``We know what it looks like there at (FSU's Dick Howser Stadium), but at this regional there is going to be twice as many people than before. We've been there before, but there will be a lot more people there now. We just have to go in and play our game and stay focused on the task.''
UCF can also take comfort in the fact that it has proven itself quite worthy against some of the nation's best teams this season. And because of that there certainly won't be any awe factor in games against Alabama and potentially FSU.
Of the eight top seeds for the NCAA Tournament, UCF beat three of those teams. The Knights swept No. 2 Florida, won one of three games against No. 5 FSU and won two of three early in the season against No. 8 Rice.
In all, UCF owns eight victories this season against nationally ranked teams and its RPI is an impressive No. 18 after completing a challenging regular-season schedule.
``Listen, I think our guys know that they can play with anybody in the country,'' Rooney said. ``But at the same time, everybody knows what college baseball is all about and that's a pitch or two and a hit or two here and there decide games. Who can get the job done, who can make the pitch or get the hit with two outs, that's what's going to determine this regional.
``But we feel good about our chances because we've proven ourselves as a No. 2 seed in the regional,'' Rooney continued. ``We've proven ourselves with the year that we've had and the teams that we've beaten.''
Richardson, who hit .315 this season with 31 RBI, 15 stolen bases and four triples, was a part of the 2010 recruiting class that helped to put the Knights in position to get back into the NCAA Tournament. Consecutive top 20 recruiting classes bolstered the talent pool at UCF and have allowed the program to return to national significance.
When he was recruiting Richardson to UCF, Rooney promised the speedy center fielder that someday he'd play in the NCAA Tournament and quite possibly even the College World Series. UCF is on that road now, and Richardson is allowing himself to dream big heading into the Regionals.
``Coach Rooney told me while he was recruiting me about the goal of 1,430,'' Richardson said of the miles between Orlando and Omaha, Neb., home of the College World Series. ``So far everything that I've come here for has happened. Now, we've got to go and take that next step and win.''
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.